Tuesday, August 24, 2010

When you think of pain in your legs, you might not think of your spine. In fact, I would wager that unless you knew a bit about anatomy, it’s likely that you wouldn’t have associated the two at all. Unfortunately, leg pain has many potential sources, such as muscular or neurological - neurological is the kind they we’ll be concerned with here, and it can be a miserable experience, especially here in NYC where life never stops moving and people are ALWAYS in a hurry! That’s why we’re here at Living Well Medical in SoHo - to get you up and running full speed ahead again..

So how can our backs affect our legs? What does a spine have to do with leg pain? As you likely know, the spine is the protector of the spinal cord, the mass of nerves that send and receive information from throughout the body. Near the base of the spine, radicular nerves exit the spine and provide sensation and motor skill to the lower body, such as the legs.

When the lower back is injured, this nerve can become compressed and then irritated, leading to severe pain and disability. In extreme cases, loss of sensation and muscular weakness and wasting can occur. It’s a very serious situation to be in. The symptoms that go along with a problem like this are collectively referred to as sciatica.

Thankfully, unlike in years passed, there are a number of non-surgical solutions to leg pain from sciatic nerve compression/impingement. At Living Well Medical in NYC, my practice, we use the latest in conservative treatments like non-surgical spinal decompression and physical therapy to rehabilitate without the invasiveness of surgery or the risks of painkiller regimens.

If you need help and want to have surgery as the last resort, call 212-645-8151 and schedule a consultation. We’re here to help.